WASHINGTON — The number of Americans filing requests for jobless benefits fell by 5,000 last week to 348,000, the lowest level since February 2008, the US Labor Department said Thursday.

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch projected that claims would rise to a seasonally-adjusted 353,000 in the week ended March 17. Claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 353,000 from 351,000.

The average of new claims over the past four weeks, meanwhile, declined by 1,250 to 355,000.

Continuing claims, which reflect people already receiving benefits, decreased by 9,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 3.35 million in the week ended March 10. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.

About 7.28 million people received some kind of state or federal benefit in the week ended March 3, a decline of 142,499. Total claims are reported with a two-week lag.